


Dashing Through the 'Ho

by Wynele



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Holiday, I may have a problem, I wrote a New Years fic to go with the X-mas fic., New Year's Eve, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 06:09:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17218439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wynele/pseuds/Wynele
Summary: While Trixie tries to find a new holiday tradition, Lucifer and Chloe spend their first New Year's Eve together.





	Dashing Through the 'Ho

**Author's Note:**

> So, after I wrote the Christmas story, I decided I needed a New Year's Eve story to go with it. I'm also thinking I may need a valentine's day story too. I may have a problem.

“Jingle shells, Jingle shells, jingle all the way!” Trixie sang loudly and painfully off-key as she bound around Lucifer’s penthouse.

Sitting behind his piano, Lucifer cringed and pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the first tinges of a headache. The girl's apparent tone-deafness aside, it had been amusing listening to her warp timeless Christmas carols into loophole swear words. At least it had been two hours ago.

“Offspring—”

“Dashing through the ‘ho—”

“Absolutely not,” he snapped suddenly, pointing at her with a stern finger, and sounding entirely too fatherly for his liking.

“One’s sexual proclivities are not a subject for debate or ridicule.”

Trixie blinked at him, lifting one nostril as she wrinkled her nose, and blinked in confusion. Usually, when he said something she didn’t understand, he would explain, but this time he simply looked annoyed. Maybe he didn’t know what proclivities meant either.

She bounced on the balls of her feet, full of energy but managed to calm down enough to walk to the piano and sit beside him on the bench.

“So…” Trixie drew out, pretending to be utterly bored, and poked at one of the piano keys with her pinky. “What do you want to do ‘til Mom gets back?”

Lucifer frowned as if it all should’ve been obvious. He was doing what he wanted to do until the detective returned. Inexplicably, Chloe had gone to get breakfast. Something that should’ve been unnecessary given his fully stocked cupboards.

“Tell me, child. What is this _Cerdo de la tía_ place your mother dashed off to this morning?”

Trixie lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “They sell vegan tamales.”

“Ironic,” Lucifer remarked with a small smirk and allowed his fingers to hover over the keys. “But it hardly explains why she bounded out of bed at sunrise.”

“They’re really good tamales?” Trixie supplied with a dramatic eye roll and offered another shrug. “We eat them every New Year’s Eve.”

Baffled at what the possible connection could be, Lucifer frowned and then brightened when he was struck with a sudden realization. The Detective, Chloe, was sharing a family tradition with him.

Trixie seemed to read his mind and twisted so that she was straddling the bench.

“Do angels celebrate New Year’s?” she asked giving him a quizzical look and poked one of the black keys with a pinky. “And is baby new year real?”

“Time doesn’t pass in the Silver City, so no,” he said with an offhanded sigh, and then blew out a breath. “As for baby New Year? He’s a remnant of far older tradition appropriated and skewed for the modern era.”

“Oh…” Trixie murmured, leaning back so that she could look around the penthouse. Boughs of Mistletoe, holly, and evergreen hung in the doorways and gold candles lined the bar. There was a basket of clove studded fruit on the piano and some sort of spicy smelling drink simmered in a crockpot in the kitchen.

It was sort of weird that the devil liked Christmas so much. Then again, who didn’t like free presents? Her eyes fell on the tree dominating one corner of the penthouse. It was decorated with ribbon and blown glass ornaments. More strangely, the tree was not cut off at the base like most Christmas trees, but seemed to have its roots intact.

“Where did you get that tree?”

Lucifer looked up and smiled faintly at the tree, its twinkling lights reflecting in his eyes.

“An ancient forest spirit sends me one every year,” he said almost offhandedly, but then his voice dropped low as if he were about to reveal a secret. “Even whilst I was in hell.”

Trixie gasped, eyes widening as she stared hard at the tree. She knew the tree was special, but learn it was magic or brought here by magic was something else entirely.

“So, it just appears?”

“Yes, quite,” Lucifer replied, playing a few notes on the piano. “and disappears at the end of Yule. Which is tomorrow, offspring.”

Trixie grinned, wrinkling her nose, and stuck out her tongue from between her puckered lips. “You’re an offspring too, you know.”

Lucifer fell silent and for a moment Trixie wondered if she had upset him, but then he simply shrugged his shoulders. “So, I am.”

Laughing a little, Trixie turned on the bench, so she could look at him directly. “So why does a forest spirit send you a tree every year?”

“Ah, that,” Lucifer chuckled and looked skyward for a long moment. “He hopes to win the affections of one of my sisters.”

Trixie frowned, pursing her lips, and bobbed her head while she thought the matter through. “Why doesn’t he just tell your sister he likes her?”

“My thoughts exactly!” Lucifer chirped, but then grew strangely downcast. “But I’ve grown to realize that perhaps he fears her rejection.”

“But he doesn’t know until he asks,” Trixie mumbled, realizing there was more to what Lucifer was saying. All she really knew was that she didn’t like how sad he suddenly seemed. “Which sister?”

“Ah, I’m not sure,” Lucifer hummed, leaning slightly as he performed a slide across the keys. “All he’s ever said is that she has wings and eyes and is utterly glorious.”

Trixie gave him a look that was half incredulity and all her mother and slowly shook her head. “Don’t all your sisters have wings?”

“And eyes,” Lucifer quipped, pecking at the piano keys. He sighed, hitting several notes with a flourish, and made a throwaway gesture with his hand. “I only learned the glorious bit when I asked him what she looked like.”

“How long as this been going on?” Trixie asked half to herself and scooted forward on the bench so that her knees were pressed against Lucifer’s thighs. “Is he a nice forest spirit?”

Lucifer tilted his head to thinking, going over timelines and dates in his mind before smacking his lips. “About two thousand years, give or take. As for nice. He’s an embodiment of nature. You may as well ask if a blizzard is nice.”

“But he loves your sister,” she murmured, not sure what to think, but then gasped suddenly as an idea came to her.

“We should start our own New Year’s Eve tradition when Mom gets home.”

Home, not back, as if they weren't just staying the weekend with Lucifer. She wished Lucifer lived with them for real, even if her mom wanted to take things slow. 

“See,” Trixie explained coyly, obviously up to something. “Usually Mom has to work, so we just have tamales and that’s it, but she doesn’t have to work this year so…”

Lucifer nodded, following. The urchin wanted the three of them to do something together tonight. He frowned, confused at his sudden swell of disappointment.  

“Unfortunately, LUX is rather busy on New Year’s Eve. The last night of the year for you mortals to let loose of all those inhibitions, regrets, and whatnot before shackling yourselves to resolutions you’re not going to keep.”

“So, cancel it,” Trixie said flatly with a short shrug of her shoulders. “Aren’t you supposed to be a rebel or something?”

“Oh, indeed,” Lucifer purred, amused as he pecked out a few more notes on the piano. “Unfortunately, even I—”

The elevator pinged, announcing someone’s arrival, and he looked up, smiling as the doors slid open.

“Ah, Detective!” Lucifer called as he hopped off the bench to greet Chloe as she stepped from the elevator.

They fussed with the bags of takeout for a moment. He took them from her, so she could remove her coat only for her to take them back, so she could give him a sideways hug.

“You guys are up early,” Chloe mused as she set the bags on the bar, and then grinned up at Lucifer. “Do you have paper plates?”

“Paper plates?” Lucifer repeated, incredulously, as if she had just suggested his Burberry suit was a knockoff. Then, he frowned, remembering. “I do actually. For tonight’s festivities at LUX”

“Which he’s gonna cancel because he’s a rebel,” Trixie chirped knowingly and bounced off the bench toward the elevator. “Patrick showed me where the storeroom is!”

“But that’s not,” Lucifer tried to protest, but then groaned, shaking his head when the elevator doors slid shut. “Bloody lovely.”

“Why are you canceling your New Year’s Eve party?” Chloe asked as she fished a churro out of one of the bags. “I thought we were going together.”

“Oh, indeed,” Lucifer purred and wrapped his arms around her, hands resting on the small of her back. He took a bite of the churro when offered, and then tipped his head down to nuzzle at her ear.

“The offspring believes the three of us need our own tradition.”

Chloe smiled, melting a little, and then tipped her head back as Lucifer began pressing feathery kisses to the corner of her jaw.

“Ah,” she mocked pouted, arching her back just slightly when he slid his hands up her spine. “But what about my semi-annual cage match with the Britanies?”

Lucifer glanced at the elevator doors, and then back down at Chloe, deciding to play along. “We could always reschedule for Valentine’s or Saint Patty’s.”

He kissed her soundly, nibbling delicately at her lips. “So,” he murmured, lifting his lips from hers just enough to speak. “Any ideas for a tradition?”

Chloe slid her hands up his flanks, feeling him shiver beneath her fingertips. “Well, we already have Taco Tuesday.”

“Which you will stop over my dead body,” Lucifer teased, giving her a light peck on the tip of her nose. “We also have Monopoly Monday.”

“Which we aren’t giving up, either.” She grinned widely and wrapped her arms loosely around his middle. “The thing about traditions is that you can’t plan for them, they just happen.”

Lucifer gave her a thoughtful look. “Like sex on top of the piano.”

“Trixie will be back any second,” she drew out, rolling her eyes as she pretended to sort out the takeout order.

Lucifer gave her a wide pleased grin and paused to smooth imaginary wrinkles from the front of his waistcoat. “You didn’t say no.”

Shaking her head, Chloe pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. She shivered a little, remembering his body pressed against hers in the middle of the night. He was a blanket hog and a pillow thief. His skin was warm, like a rock left out in the sun, and he made the most adorable snuffling sound whenever she got up to go to the bathroom.

They had yet to have sex, despite coming very close many times. One or both had always stopped short, silently reminding themselves of their vow to not rush. She was happy with the pace they had set. Getting to know him, the real him, and each other had been amazing. Still, there were moments, like this one, where she wanted to throw caution to the wind.

Lucifer seemed to sense her thoughts and inched closer to her. His hands skimmed her shoulders, fingertips feathering down the lengths of her arms until they came to rest on her hips.

“Chloe—”

As if on cue, the elevator pinged, and Trixie bounded back into the penthouse. Clutched close to her chest were a bundle of black paper plates and brightly colored napkins. In one hand she carried a Ziplock bag of glittery silverware and on the top of her head was a sparkling plastic tiara.

“Did you know that you have a hobo living in your storeroom?”

Frowning, Lucifer opened his mouth and then closed it before he brightened as if something had finally occurred to him.

“Ah…Oh, right, Gabriel. I suppose it is my turn.”

Waving off the shocked looks from both mortals, he tapped his lips with the tip of his index finger and gave Trixie a very serious look.

“Did he try to bite you?”

Trixie blinked at him for a moment of pure incredulity. Her nostrils flared as her upper lip curled to reveal her top row of teeth. “Uhm…no?”

“Ah, good,” Lucifer chirped, helping himself to the rest of Chloe’s churro. “He’s sober then.”

“Whoa, wait, wait,” Chloe gasped, wide-eyed as she shook her head in disbelief. “Your brother, the Angel Gabriel, is drunk in your storeroom?”

Lucifer frowned and traded a look with Trixie who simply shrugged.

“No,” he said slowly as if it should’ve been obvious, “he didn’t try to bite your offspring, so he’s sober.”

He paused, as if to consider, and shrugged. “Probably”

“Probably?” Chloe repeated, clenching her jaw so as not to shriek, but inwardly winced at the shrillness of her voice. “There is a probably sober angel living in your storeroom.”

“Of course not, Detective,” Lucifer tutted and took the paper plates from Trixie. “He lives in the Silver City. He just sleeps off his holiday benders in my storeroom. Well, this decade at least.”

“Like a tradition, huh?” Trixie asked cagily, clearly hinting, and set the napkins and plastic silverware on the bar. “Can I have some of your weird juice?”

“It’s winter melon tea,” Lucifer corrected, archly and gave a backhanded wave toward his kitchen. “And yes.”

Chloe looked up at the ceiling and began counting to ten. She managed to make it to four before sucking in a breath and glaring at Lucifer. “You let Trixie go into a storeroom with your drunk brother.”

Several emotions washed over Lucifer’s face, but the most telling was the hurt that settled in his eyes.

“I didn’t know he was there,” he reminded, confused when his temper flared just slightly. “I would no more attempt to control her than I would you.”

“Lucifer,” Chloe groaned and ground the heels of her hands into her eyes before smiling up at him. “Telling a child 'no' isn’t the same thing as controlling them.”

Trixie took a loud slurp of her juice, announcing her return to the adults in the room. She still didn't like it when grownups fought about her. “Gabriel seemed nice.”

Lucifer blew out a breath, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes to the sky. “Well, my dear, hopefully, you were wise enough not to lend him any money.”

“I woke him up when I turned on the light,” she explained with a shrug and then grinned, eyes wide. “He got this really cranky look on his face and said something about bugs.”

“Bugs? There are no bugs in…”

Lucifer clamped his mouth shut and then gave Trixie a knowing look. “He probably said _bugger off_ , my dear.”

Trixie beamed a little, flushing, wondering if Lucifer realized he called her dear rather than urchin or offspring. She heard it, of course, as well of the true affection in his tone. Very soon, she’d tease him about him, but it could wait, at least until she needed leverage.

“Then, he flopped back over and went back to sleep.” She bugged her eyes out at Lucifer, rolling them slightly. “He snores really loud.”

“Yes,” Lucifer drew out, eyes narrowed and his expression deadpan, “the holy trumpet of Gabriel.”

Trixie mirrored his expression, but then lifted one nostril as she wrinkled her nose. “Nu-uh.”

“It’s true, in sense,” Lucifer insisted with a chuckled and leaned back against the bar. “And honestly, no more preposterous than the vast majority of stories you mortals tell about Gabriel, or any of my siblings, really.”

“Right,” Chloe mouthed more than said and shoved away from the bar. “Let’s go down and check on your brother.”

“He’s probably long gone, Detective,” Lucifer protested and picked up a bundle of foil-wrapped tamales. “And what of your tradition?”

“That’s the thing with traditions, Lucifer,” Chloe said with a teasing lilt to her voice. “They change over time.”

Smirking, she strolled over to the elevator, Trixie hot on her heels, and gave him a challenging look before pressing the call button.

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer muttered and brushed past her into the elevator.

 

LUX’s storeroom was less impressive than Chloe imagined. She wasn’t sure what she expected truly. Definitely, not a small room with a plain metal door tucked in some rarely used hallway. Out of habit, she moved in front of Lucifer when he opened the door and fumbled along the wall for the light switch.

Blinking, she turned in place, staring at the neatly stacked boxes that lined the walls to the ceiling. There was no sign of Gabriel, but in the center of the room was a pile of brightly colored satin pillows and a half-finished bottle of wine.

“Oh, this is bloody lovely,” Lucifer muttered, staring in disbelief at the pile.

Meeting Chloe’s quizzical gaze, he smiled tightly and nudged one of the pillows with his foot. “These pillows are from Raziel’s throne.”

“Right, Raziel’s throne,” Chloe drew out, bobbing her head as she reached down to pick up the bottle of wine. “Is that by Home Depot?”

Lucifer grumbled, huffing a breath, and plucked the bottle from her hands. He tucked it beneath his arm and straightened, his expression stern. “Detective, this is a serious matter. Raziel—”

“Cool!” Trixie squealed and did a face first belly flop in the largest section of the pile. “Pillows from heaven!”

She flailed her arms and legs, wallowing amongst the brightly colored cushions before sniffing loudly and rolling over onto her back. “They kind of smell like pickles.”

Lucifer sniffed, and then shrugged a shoulder. “Raziel has always had a bit of a fondness.”

“Okay,” Chloe began, giving Lucifer a sideways squint. “Your brother, the Angel Gabriel—”

“Tried to bite your offspring—”

“No, he didn’t,” Trixie insisted, shaking her head, and hugged a purple pillow to her chest. It was soft and silky with just the right amount of fluff. She wondered if Raziel would notice if she kept it.

“He was nice, even if he stole Raziel’s pillows.”

“He’ll probably insist he borrowed them,” Lucifer muttered with a world-weary sigh. “Of course, since he never returns anything, he borrows…”

He took a step back and tucked the half-empty bottle of wine behind a box, out of sight.

“I suppose I’ll deal with it when the time comes.” He pursed his lips, thinking. “The real question is do I have time to grow cucumbers in the garden or should I just pop into Costco.”

“For what?” Trixie asked and flopped over onto her stomach, her feet kicking idly in the air.

“Trixie, babe,” Chloe said suddenly, staring Lucifer down. There was a reason he hid the bottle of wine. She wanted to know it sooner rather than later.

She gave Trixie a grin, wrinkling her nose a little. “Why don’t you go upstairs and grab our tamales? We’ll eat them down here.”

Giving both adults in the room a suspicious side-eye, Trixie rolled to her feet. She wasn’t sure what Lucifer had done but knew that for some reason he was in trouble.

Chloe waited for Trixie to leave the room before she walked over to Lucifer. She gave him a long look, shaking her head, and then reached behind him for the bottle of wine. It was a red, seemingly normal in every way, and gave no indication why he tried to secret it away.

“It’s silly, I know,” Lucifer said quietly as she turned the bottle over in her hands. “Normally I’m not one for sentiment, especially considering what happened after that night, but…”

He tried to take the bottle from her, but she pulled away. She squinted at him, frowning as her nose twitched in a half shake of her head. Something tinged with guilt nagged at her. The bottle was important to him and she hadn’t a clue why.

“It’s from our first date,” Lucifer explained with a pained, brittle smile. “Well, I suppose calling it a date was a bit of an overstatement. We suffered from a bit of stewardess interruptus, and then you were poisoned and well, you know the rest.”

“Yeah, I do,” Chloe whispered, teary as she wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him tight. “I can’t believe you kept this.”

In truth, she could. This was a man, a being, who once kept the bullet she used to shoot him and remembered all their time together with perfect clarity.

“The real question is how Gabriel knew the location of my safe,” Lucifer muttered and then glared skyward. “Which means I should change the password.” 

Laughing, Chloe simply hugged him tighter and allowed the bottle dangle at her side. She sighed, melting into him, when he carefully wound his arms around her, returning her embrace. He nudged her with his chin, just enough so that he could kiss her.

“Should I cancel the sitter for your offspring?” he asked softly, nuzzling her nose with his. “I’ll pay Yvette for her trouble, of course.”

“Hm. Yvette,” Chloe murmured with an almost Lucifer like a purr. “Is this where you tell me she’s actually a half-angel sorcerer from the planet Zumba?”

“Of course not, Detective,” Lucifer said with a playful scoff. When he tried to pull away, she hugged him tighter. “Everyone knows Zumba doesn’t have an atmosphere.”

Chloe’s browed lifted with her near silent, “Oh.”

She slackened her arms a little, so she could look up at him. “But the rest? Totally true.”

“Being my niece would explain a few things about her,” Lucifer explained as if giving a lecture, and then seemed to consider for a moment. “As for magic? She studies physics at university, which a scant few centuries ago would’ve got her tossed on a pyre for her trouble.”

“Right,” Chloe deadpanned with a slight smile on her lips and bobbed her head, “and this is where you tell me magic and science are two sides of the same coin.”

Lucifer pressed his lips together and hummed a negative sound before shaking his head. “More akin to a different branch on the same tree.”

Chloe pulled her head back, narrowing her eyes into a squint.

“So, it is magic or it’s not magic or...?”

Lucifer gave her a noncommittal shrug before kissing her cheek.

“That bit of philosophy is more Raziel’s wheelhouse, than mine. I do know, however, that young Yvette’s knowledge of physics, more importantly, leverage allowed her to defeat Mazikeen rather soundly.”

“Wait…” Chloe blinked twice, uncertain that she had heard correctly. “What?”

“Ah, yes. You should have seen it, Detective.” Lucifer sighed in appreciation, equal parts amused and proud, and craned his head back to look at the ceiling.

“As long as I exist, I’ll never forget the sight of Maze’s heels going up over her head like that.”

“Sure,” Chloe muttered beneath her breath and slid her hands down Lucifer’s spine. Flashing him a quick grin, cupped his butt cheeks in both hands, delighted when he jumped and gave them a firm squeeze. Then, in an instant, grew serious once more.

“I so want a woman who can beat up a demon watching my child.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Lucifer said with an approving nod, completely missing the sarcasm. “Although, your offspring would be in little danger within my penthouse.”

Chloe pulled away, intending to explain, but before she could Trixie barreled into the room with both bags of takeout stuffed under her arms.

“What you got there, babe?” Chloe asked, pointing with her chin at the throw flung over Trixie’s shoulder.

“Um, well,” the child began, looking at the floor, suddenly shy, and poked at the pillows with her foot. “You still invite Daddy to Taco Tuesday even though you’re with Lucifer now, so, I thought maybe…just in case.”

She shrugged, giving her mother a pleading look, and then half-ran across the room to stand in front of Lucifer. “I want you to keep Lucifer.”

“Oh,” Lucifer purred, eyes bright and teasing, but it was obvious every inch of him was touched. “And Lucifer wants to be kept.”

Chloe exhaled, her lips trembling as she tried and failed to keep from smiling. She wanted to soften the blow for Trixie. As perfect, although not seamlessly, Lucifer fit into their lives, there was still a long hard road ahead of them.

She wanted it to work, but knew there was a possibility it wouldn’t and wanted to prepare her daughter. Try as she might, she couldn’t, so instead, she looked up and addressed the being she now knew resided there. “I want to keep him, too.”

Lucifer cleared his throat, blushing a little though he would never admit it, and took the throw from Trixie.

“On that note, I do believe we should commence with our first annual storeroom picnic.”

Trixie cheered and dove into the pile of pillows before pulling Lucifer down with her. After a brief tussle, the two stared up at Chloe like a pair of devious, bright-eyed puppies.

Chloe shook her head, giving them both a look of mock sternness, before grinning and diving into the pile with them.  
  
  


Upstairs in the penthouse, the Angel Gabriel peered bleary-eyed into the depths of the refrigerator.

“Huh?” he muttered, blinking at a carton of milk before guzzling its contents and tossing it behind him. “I had no idea almonds could lactate.”

“Apparently, so, brother,” called a soft, whimsical voice from the living room. “As do soybeans, rice, peas, cashews, and coconuts.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and grabbed a package of pastrami, still wrapped in white butcher’s paper, before stepping away from the refrigerator. If there was one thing he could count on it was his siblings coming to retrieve him. It seemed not even the close proximity of Lucifer could fully deter them.

“Hey, Hasdiel?” he asked as he quickly glanced around the kitchen. “Any idea where Lucifer keeps his bread?”

“It’s Lucifer, so,” Hasdiel reminded with a sigh and stepped around the corner into the kitchen. “He probably bakes his own like some weird pretentious hipster.”

He leaned against the stove and watched as Gabriel rifled through the cupboards, leaving the doors open, until he finally located a half loaf of artisanal bread.

“Close enough,” Hasdiel murmured and crossed his arms over his thin chest. “Any idea what happened to Raziel’s pillows?”

Gabriel paused in mid-bite and looked up over his sandwich at his brother. “I’ve been drunk, high, or both since the solstice.”

Hasdiel arched a brow before declining Gabriel’s offer of a bite of his sandwich. “That’s what I told the others, but someone pinned an IOU to her throne with one of your feathers.”

“Bet it was Jophiel,” Gabriel said around a mouth full of pastrami. “She’s always trying to frame me for the stuff I do.”

“Yes,” Hasdiel drew out, his eyes wide and mocking. “She also mentioned that you were doing a bit of matchmaking. Which, of course, I told her was preposterous as everyone knows matchmaking is my duty.”

“Your duty was to become Amenadiel’s second in command,” Gabriel reminded with a roll of his eyes before grabbing a soda from the fridge, “which you gave up to help people get laid.”

“I gave it up because I’d rather see people love and respect each other rather than slaughtered,” Hasdiel said sternly, his full lips thinning into a line. “And it’s Cupid, if you don’t mind.”

“Stupider the Cupider,” Gabriel sang softly, remembering the childhood rhyme that earned Hasdiel his nickname. “For what it’s worth, little brother…”

“Little?” Cupid repeated incredulously. “I’m older than you.”

“You’re short and skinny—”

“I’m lithe,” Cupid insisted, defensively, and pulled himself up to his full height. “And I’ll have you know I’m a full inch taller than the average mortal.”

Gabriel bugged his eyes out at his brother, teasing as he bobbed his head. “Oh, sorry you’re my slightly above average brother. I stand corrected.”

“Gabriel,” Cupid growled, shaking his head. “Quit trying to change the subject.”

Gabriel snickered and lifted a hand to silence his brother before remembering there was a bowl of pasta salad in desperate need of liberation from Lucifer’s refrigerator.

“I wasn’t,” he insisted, feigning innocence. “You’re the one who brought up your shortcomings, so you stop changing the subject.”

He smirked at Cupid’s glare and helped himself to a heaping spoonful of pasta salad.

“It’s not matchmaking if they’re already together,” Gabriel said, softly, and perfectly serious. “In truth, I was answering a prayer, which is something all angels are supposed to at least attempt.”

Cupid frowned, not quite following. “As you said our brother and the mortal are already together. If the love between them is true…it won’t be without hardship.”

Gabriel paused for a moment to lick his spoon, and then set the pasta salad aside. “The mortal child wanted a ritual or tradition that would bind Lucifer closer to her family.”

Smiling softly and obviously pleased, Cupid gave his brother an approving nod. “So, you helped her find one.”

“Eh, it’s not an arrow to the ass,” Gabriel said with a shrug, “but it’ll do.”

“Indeed,” Cupid replied, grinning with approval and helped himself to the pasta salad.

 

Down in the storeroom, Trixie rolled over onto her stomach and peered up at both adults. “You can go to your party tonight if you want.”

“You sure you’re okay with that, Monkey?” Chloe asked as she split the last tamale between the three of them. “We don’t mind staying home with you.”

Trixie bobbed her head vigorously, feeling more content than she had in days. She knew, without doubt, that in some way Lucifer would be with them forever.

“Yeah, Mom!” Trixie chirped, excited, her eyes wide and starry. “Yvette’s gonna show me how she made Maze go airborne!  That was super cool!”

Before Chloe could protest, Lucifer cleared his throat and gave Trixie a stern look. “The word you’re looking for, offspring, is awesome.”

Fighting an eye roll, Chloe leaned forward to kiss Trixie’s forehead before stretching out beside her. She pulled Lucifer down beside her and wiggled around until she could snuggle with her two favorite people.

Today was no longer simply the last day of the year, it was now the first day for the three of them.


End file.
